When ever somebody from the government is quoted saying we do not support terrorism, there should be an asterisks by it, with”unless they help us get what we want to do done”.

We also supported Pol Pot and “Khmer Rouge” which were communist,which strikes some hypocrisy there as people were told that communism(and in extent those who supported it) were bad.

Of course that is probably why Cambodia and some of the terrible things that went on there haven’t been talked about much, it makes the situation seem less terrible, to some people.

So thanks for the entry, Matt. It’s brilliant like so often.

muslims, and muslim countries have shown a remarkable amount of restraint, all things considered..

..but try and get the average american, or western citizen, to understand such straightforward moral logic..

I agree, Matt you are just plain amazing. Don’t stop untill you are prime minister!

matt, have you considered compiling a selection of your entries into a book? you have many well-written pieces, such as this entry.

After also reading Dale’s follow-up post, I can only imagine that this article has already solicited a fair bit of inflammatory responses. I know you’ve addressed this previously, and I know it’s been stated in comments before, but it needs to be said again:

This site remains one of the best resources on the internet for insightful analysis and open, honest discourse. There are untold numbers of people affected in a positive way by the content here, and it has served as a stepping stone for my furthered interest in the field of international/foreign policy. Thank you.

It still confounds me how an article of this nature could draw so much negative attention… is it a knee-jerk reaction by a segment of the population to threaten dissenting opinions? How does Juan Cole deal with this… is it the difference in his audience?

Not to focus on the negative aspects for too long, I just wanted to ensure a comment was left on an article of such significance. Far too often the preceding or following article will be of much lesser importance, yet solicit a tenfold increase in comments. I can only hope the hit count on articles such as these are notably higher… at least it means the word is getting out, even if it isn’t being actively discussed.

All the best, and keep up the great work.

You should have quit watching television long ago…

I’m about halfway through Chomsky’s “Hegemony or Survival” now and it’s something I wish many would read. He’s dealing with the current US governments actions to roll back the programs introduced during the New Deal days of FDR. If the Republicans get their way the US will eventually see the complete dismantlement of Social Security, Medicade, Medicare, Public Schooling and any other other programs that protect average citizens from the vagaries of a free market society. The private (pirate) sector is all to these people and they are instituting what amounts to a coup against the free will of most Americans and the world by extension through the powerful US military. A minor fraction of the population of the US is orchastrating one of the most fundamental power grabs in history and it doesn’t matter to them who is affected. Whether it’s millions caught in the crossfire in Afghanistan and Iraq, or millions of Americans who have been used for profit with the Subprime scandal or the S&L debacle under the last conservative regime in the 1980s.

Cutting through all the BS, it’s pretty clear who the real terrorists are.

Canadian television is not that different from American television these days.